The Wolverines opened last season against Oak Hill in the Marshall County (Ky.) Shootout and lost by six.

Smith is the son of ex-Louisville and Clippers guard Derek Smith, who died in 1996 from a heart condition. Nolan Smith attended Washington Bullets practices when his dad was an assistant coach and recalls watching Chris Webber and Juwan Howard.

"My dad instilled a lot about the passion of basketball in me," Smith said. "That's how I learned to always play hard and have a good attitude."

The honor-roll student seems to fit the Duke mold.

"The great thing about Nolan is that he's been playing with the best players all his life," said Duke freshman and ex-Glenbrook North star Jon Scheyer. "He's a great athlete who can defend a lot of different [types of] players. He is real outgoing and will fit right in with us."

The most excited player Thursday night will be Mitchell Anderson, who transferred to Oak Hill last summer from the Public League's Agricultural Science High School.

"It will be like a homecoming for me, and a lot of my family will be there," said the 6-6 Anderson, son of former Public League star Mitchell "J.J." Anderson, who averaged a state-record 43.5 points for now-defunct Metro in 1977-78 and is an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies. "I wasn't doing too well academically, and I came to Oak Hill to improve my grades and become a better all-around player."

The move worked: He's on the honor roll and has been contacted by Northern Illinois and Bradley--his dad's alma mater.